“Yearning To Belong”

Location

Please join Mimi Polin Ferraro and Cantor Elena Zarkh of Old York Road Temple – Beth Am in a discussion following the film “Yearning To Belong”.

In February of 2002, a Jewish beit din (court) made up of 5 rabbis from the United States and Israel flew to a remote area in Uganda to conduct a formal conversion of over 300 Abayudaya (the Lugandan term for “Jews”), welcoming them into the community of world Jewry. The documentary “Yearning To Belong” records this momentous event.

The documentary shows the ritual conversions, family interviews with the Beit Din, the mikveh and river immersions and the individual stories of the village members. In addition, it presents the story of the spiritual leader Rabbi Gershom Sizomu who is currently studying for ordination at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles as well as the amazing celebration when a Torah is donated to the community and the first wedding is held under a sugarcane chuppah.